Honk, Honk

Braelyn & Gwendolyn have been enjoying the unseasonably warm Midwestern weather of late. That's a good thing too because they both love to go out in the driveway and ride in their cars.

Needless to say, whenever we load them up to run errands, they see their cars in our garage and immediately start asking to play in them.

Typically, that wouldn't be an option in January but given how nice it's been outside for the majority of the winter, its worked out just smashingly!

Now if Dad can only figure out how to get them as excited about mowing the lawn, we'd be on to something!

;)

When the Cat's Away...

This past weekend, Dad went back to Florida to help place Poppa's remains in its final resting place. However, the crazy logistics of toting the entire Castellano clan there for such a quick turnaround meant that Mom stayed behind with Braelyn and Gwendolyn.

Typically, any time away from the girls is sad for Dad... Especially given the purpose of his travels this time. To help him feel connected with what's going on back home, Mom often snaps cute shots of the girls and sends them his way so that he isn't too left out. One such photo Dad received is this shot of Braelyn:

There are times when you see a photo of your children and are merely left speechless due to the emotions it stirs up. This photo however left Dad falling out of his chair in a robust round of laughter. We aren't quite sure what Brealyn was doing in a knit cap, bare belly, tutu skirt and Mom's pink camo slippers but she was rocking the look for sure!!!

Strange but even when they aren't right there with you, your children still just seem to know when you need a hug, kiss or some hearty laughter.

While not nearly as funny, Dad also loved this photo of his two other girls:

For some reason, as soon as it popped up, Dad started thinking of the one we shared in this post from the last unexpected hospital stay we had back in December of 2010. Luckily this version of the photo had more smiles than anything else.

Well, that's all we've got for you now. Dad's glad to be back and missed all three of his "girls" very much!!!

A Castellano Moment of Zen

Nope, this photo won't make The Daily Show any time soon... But trust us, whenever Braelyn and Gwendolyn take a timeout from their often noisy daily routines to quietly stretch and attempt to hold hands, it's a "Moment of Zen" to Mom and Dad!

Our Little Hot Dogs

Here's a look at Braelyn & Gwendolyn enjoying their first coin-operated ride:

Leave it to them to decide on a hot dog truck as their initial ride of choice.

For the record, the experience was quite a dud... The ride must have been broken because it ate Mom's 50 cents and never moved an inch!

However, the girls didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, tears ensued when someone else wanted to try it out and we had to vacate their beloved hot dog truck before they were ready to leave.

So it goes...

Lazy Weekend

Mother Nature's continued mild winter was fully taken advantage of by the Castellanos this past weekend.

Between the down right balmy temperature and the elongated weekend, Braelyn and Gwendolyn had quite the enjoyable go of things.

It began Friday afternoon with Gwendolyn getting her new foot braces. So far, they seem to be working fine... Although there is a little more to putting them on then merely sliding them into place and securing the Velcro strap. Still, they do seem in the few short days we've had them to give her more stability and she's not slipping out of either her foot brace or her AFO brace nearly as frequently.

Gwendolyn and her sister then spent a good chunk of their weekend visiting with Grandma as well as her Iowa visitors, Aunts Arletta and Julie. The girls always enjoy getting to see them... Especially when they can take advantage of the time by getting several stories read to them.

Of course, Grandma was able to get her typical time in with the girls also. That meant plenty of time spent on her lap playing whatever game struck their fancy.

Braelyn was in a hat mood all weekend long. Whenever she spied Dad with a hat on, she too decided that her quaff needed to be covered. So, she spent the weekend with a wide array of baseball and knit caps covering her melon while Dad's bare head was left unprotected.

Unfortunately, Tuesday came quickly and it's back to the daily grind for us all.

We hope you enjoyed yourselves!!! Catch you soon...

Not a Scary Friday the 13th... We Hope

It may be Friday the 13th but we are hoping that smiles continue to abound for the Castellanos. As has become a common theme on this blog, there isn't much drama to report. The girls favorite activity continues to be coloring. Luckily for them, Mom is always one step ahead of the twins. So, she took a small table and chair set she previously purchased garage-saling and gave it a makeover to produce the perfect "coloring center" for the girls. We placed it in the vacant corner once occupied by the Christmas tree to rave reviews by Braelyn and Gwendolyn.

Braelyn continues her quirky ways. Her "welcome home" greeting for Dad has gone from merely shouting "Dad" when he comes home to an entire song and dance of late. Yesterday, she kept chanting "Dad... Dad... Dad" as she hopped around and flailed her arms about. During various points, she'd take a quick detour to administer a Daddy hug before promptly picking up her "Dad dance" where she left off.

Gwendolyn is off to get her latest set of braces this afternoon. Unfortunately, the set she received about a month ago just aren't staying on and seem to be causing her to hunch slightly when she uses them. So, we are hoping that this new set can help to rectify that situation.

For some unknown reason, this week has also been a struggle for Gwendolyn in terms of sleeping through the night. Typically, the girls go down at 7:30 p.m. and tend to stay asleep until we wake them the next morning (We know... We're VERY lucky!). However, Gwendolyn has been getting up consistently around midnight this week and can't get immediately back to sleep. So as to not rouse Braelyn also, that means that we grab her and whisk her from their room.

Needless to say, we are hoping that the holiday weekend allows her to get back in the groove because both Dad and Mom are feeling the ill effects of sleeping with Gwendolyn. From time-to-time, she randomly rolls over in the middle of the night and wakes up from her sleep. Just to make sure you are there and she hasn't been abandoned, she'll caress your face or pinch your nose so she has verification of your presence, which inevitably wakes one from their own slumber. So, as you can imagine, sleep is at a premium for us right about now.

Well, that's about it for the time being... Enjoy your weekend!!!

And Away We Go

Braelyn and Gwendolyn have had a busy but uneventful start to 2012. Most of their time is consumed with their "cooolers" (as in "colors"), which is their way of asking for crayons so that they can color... Check that, it's their way of asking for crayons so that Mom and Dad can color. For some reason, the girls tend to get the most enjoyment out of watching an adult shade in a coloring book.

Gwendolyn did have her annual review with First Steps (the state agency that handles the majority of her therapy and aids until she turns three and can get them a school). When reviewing the notes from last year, it was a great reminder of how good 2011 was to her. She continues to do better and better in her walker... However, we will be happy when her latest braces come in as the current versions she's wearing still aren't fitting right. Gwendolyn always seems to slip a foot out of her sneakers when she's in them. As you can imagine, that can be quite a deterrent when it comes to walking, especially given her floppy ankles.

Braelyn received her first official "owie" the other day when she dropped a toy on her foot and it took some skin off one of her toes. Now, every time we go to either put on or take off her socks, she points to the toe with a shrill and asks Mom or Dad to kiss her "owie."

Ah the things parents do to ease the suffering of their children. (Or in this case, preceived suffering!)

;)

Have a great week everyone!!!

Ringing in 2012 with some steaks & ground beef

The holidays have come and gone. So too has Nana's visit with Braelyn and Gwendolyn. It's funny how quickly two weeks flies by when it's a happy experience and how long it drags on when it's a painful one. (No worries Nana, we were referencing how quickly your stay went this holiday... we PROMISE!!!)  

Regardless, Braelyn and Gwendolyn have spent their mornings since her departure asking for "Nana?" each morning. They no doubt enjoyed the extra story telling that came along with her visit... Especially just before bedtime.

Another departure that left the girls perplexed is that of our Christmas tree. Mom is a stickler for getting the Christmas decor put away quickly after New Year's (which apparently is something she inherited from Grandma much to Dad's chagrin... but we digress). As the girls continued their morning ritual of sitting on their potty and eating their breakfast (sorry if that grosses you out but with twins, we've learned to multi-task as much as possible) today they just knew that something just wasn't quite right. Finally, Braelyn looked over her shoulder and pointed to the vacant corner of the room asking "tree?" Shortly thereafter, Gwendolyn joined in the inquisition and all Dad could think to say it that Santa took it with him to the North Pole but will bring it back next year. Sorry to throw you under the bus St. Nick but it actually met with approval from the members of our jury so we're sticking with that story for the time being.

As for the twins New Year's, they celebrated with a pizza party at Grandma's alongside their cousins. Earlier in the day, Mom and Dad took the girls grocery shopping. They had New Year hats and noise makers in a big display smack dab in the middle of the meat department... Because when one thinks of New Years, they apparently flock to pick up some freshly butchered meat? Of course, Mom and Dad took the opportunity to snap a video of what transpired.

Click here if you'd like to see the goofiness that is the girls on a trip to Hy-Vee. (And we aren't kidding when we say goofiness)

Regardless, we hope that you too enjoyed your New Year celebration and that you have a blessed 2012!!!